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'Aquaman' star Willem Dafoe reckons comicbook movies are 'too long and too noisy'

Willem Dafoe arrives at the Governors Awards on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Willem Dafoe (Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Willem Dafoe has waded into the murky mire of the comicbook movie backlash, calling them 'too long and too noisy'.

However, he does note that making them is plenty of fun.

Dafoe has appeared in a couple of comicbook projects, most recently playing Vulko in James Wan's bonkers Aquaman, opposite Jason Momoa.

He also played Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in 2002.

Appearing at a talk at the 92Y in New York, while promoting his new movie The Lighthouse, he said (via Cinemablend): “You have fun with some of the things that you get to do, because there’s lots of hardware and there’s lots of crazy crane shots and those kind of things. That’s fun.

Read more: Ninja Turtles actor slams movie production

“But stuff is overshot. They spend a lot of money on big set pieces, because that’s what delivers the action, and I find them too long and too noisy. But let’s not get into this [laughs]. I don’t want to bite the hand that feeds me. But, no, seriously, folks. Look, those aren’t the movies I run to.”

Willem Dafoe as Vulko in Aquaman (Credit: Warner Bros)
Willem Dafoe as Vulko in Aquaman (Credit: Warner Bros)

Deep down, we probably all knew this.

But Dafoe does go on to discuss making Spider-Man with Raimi.

“I mean, I’ve done some of those movies, and they’re fun. But also, even then, I got lucky because they’ve been personal,” he added.

Read more: Joker passes $1bn

“For example, Spider-Man was great fun because Sam Raimi made that like it was a little independent film. And also that was before a lot of the technology was in place, and comic book movies were fairly new, so it was exciting. There was nothing by the numbers, they didn't roll in the experts. Now it's become, the industry outgrew itself.”

Willem Dafoe in full Green Goblin garb for Sam Raimi's 2002 <i>Spider-Man</i>. (Sony Pictures)
Willem Dafoe in full Green Goblin garb for Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man. (Sony Pictures)

Continuing in a Scorsese-esque vein, he went on: “What I worry about is, those big movies, they need something to feed them. They need a surge, and they need people pushing the boundaries so they can go forward. Because they’re not in the business of going forward, really. They’re in the business of business, and you can make beautiful things because they have a lot of resources.”

A full and frank backlash will be forthcoming, no doubt.